Daniel Tomberlin

Religious freedom is an inalienable human right granted by God in creation (Genesis 2). Religious freedom is an expression of free will. In the Garden of Eden, God granted to the first humans the freedom of choice – the choice to believe, the choice to be obedient, and the choice to rebel. The Apostle Paul affirmed that all humans, Jew and Gentile, have a religious conscience that prompts an intuitive search for God (Romans 2:15; Acts 17:24-28). Because religious freedom is granted by God, this is a freedom that is not derived from the state and should not be suppressed by the state.

Continue reading “Religious Freedom is Essential to the Mission of Christ”

I often hear or read well-meaning preachers suggest that if we are serious about reaching this generation with the gospel, then we must speak their language, or bring it to their level. In other words, we need to get rid of our religious sounding vocabulary. I suggest that’s a mistake. Pentecost offers a paradigm for doing missionary preaching.

Continue reading “The Other Tongues of Pentecost”

The Pentecostal movement is most identified with tongues-speech – a mysterious and largely misunderstood phenomena. In the apostolic church, and the early centuries of the Christian church, tongues-speech signified the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1ff). Although tongues-speech declined by the 5th century, it has never ceased. Throughout the history of the church tongues-speech has been associated with various mystics and renewal movements. Even before the 20th century Pentecostal movement, there were localized outpourings of the Spirit and outbreaks of tongues-speech across the globe. But it was the Azusa Street movement that made tongues-speech a global phenomenon. Today, Christians of all tribes, from Roman Catholic to Mennonite, have testified to being baptized in the Spirit and speaking in tongues. Even the Southern Baptists are rethinking their official ban on tongues-speech.

Continue reading “I Still Believe in Speaking in Other Tongues”

Seven things I hate about Pentecostalism and seven things I love about Pentecostalism. . .

Continue reading “Things I Hate & Love about Pentecostalism”